The Eatwild Store: Moving Feast by Allan Nation

The Moving Feast: A cultural history of heritage foods in southeast Mississippi is a departure from Allan Nation's usual books about grassfarming. In this one, Nation (editor of The Stockman Grassfarmer, North America's premier publication on grazing) tells the intriguing story of the food of the South and why Southerners eat the way they do. "Other than the way we talk, nothing defines Southerners more than the way we eat," says Nation.

Packed with historical anecdotes, The Moving Feast explains the food history of Southeast Mississippi from Native American times to the end of World War, and offers a summary of healthier choices for what we eat today. It provides background details about some customs you may have wondered about, as well as some you've never heard of, for example:

Why Southerners eat corn bread rather than white bread
Why they raised beef but didn't eat it
Why they fry everything
Why towns are spaced about 7 miles apart in SE Mississippi
Why Al Capone chose SE Mississippi to supply his 10,000 speakeasies in Chicago.

But The Moving Feast offers another lesson as well. Prior to World War II, most of the food eaten in the South was raised organically and consumed no more than 40 miles from where it was raised. In 1936, the Hattiesburg, Mississippi area alone supported more than 28,000 full-time farmers. How that was possible, and why did it change? This book offers valuable insights that apply today.

Engaging reading for Northerners and Southerners alike, this book makes a great gift.